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Tulane S Sam Scofield picks up national award: Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week

Scofield forces fumble: Tulsa vs. Tulane

Tulsa Golden Hurricane wide receiver Keevan Lucas (2) fumbles away the ball as he is hit by Tulane Green Wave safety Sam Scofield (35) in the fourth quarter during the game between Tulsa and Tulane at the Superdome on Saturday, October 26, 2013. (Michael DeMocker, Nola.com / The Times-Picayune)
(Michael DeMocker / NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Tulane safety Sam Scofield added two more weekly honors to his resume on Tuesday as the junior safety was named the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week and was also selected as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Defensive Player of the Week.

Each Tuesday during the 2013 season the FWAA All-America Committee will select a national defensive player of the week from nominations made by the 10 Division I Bowl Subdivision conferences and major independents, while the Louisiana award is selected from the LSWA.

One day after he was tabbed the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week and two days after claiming College Sports Madness Defensive Player of the Week recognition, Scofield completed the sweep today with the state and national awards.

A 6-1 junior from Lafayette, La., Scofield earned the honors after posting a career-high 18 tackles to go with a pair of pass break-ups, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a 14-7 C-USA victory against the Golden Hurricane. The win helped improve Tulane to 6-2 overall and remain undefeated in conference play with a 4-0 mark.

Scofield is the second third Green Wave player to be selected as a national player of the week this season. He joins secondary teammate, sophomore Lorenzo Doss, who was the Jim Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week on Oct. 9 and senior All-America kicker Cairo Santos, who was named the College Football Performance Award National Kicker of the Week on Oct. 14.

Scofield has been added to the 2013 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy will be announced by the Football Writers Association of America on Nov. 21. The winner will be revealed on Dec. 9 during a banquet that the Charlotte Touchdown Club sponsors at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte, N.C.

Fourteen of Scofield’s tackles on Saturday were solos, and his 18 total stops surpassed his previous high of 15 against South Alabama back on Sept. 7. It was his third double-digit tackle total of the 2013 season and the sixth of his career.

Two of Scofield’s plays against the Golden Hurricane were fourth-quarter drive stoppers as he forced a fumble – which was recovered by teammate Zach Davis – on Tulsa’s second-to-last possession and he batted down a pass on fourth-and-25 with 1:42 left on the clock to clinch the victory. The 18 total tackles are the most by a C-USA player this season.

Scofield has started all eight games in 2013 at strong safety and leads the team with 66 tackles (52 solo, 14 assists) while sitting tied for first with one fumble recovery, second with 8.0 tackles for loss, tied for third with seven pass break-ups and one forced fumble, and tied for seventh with 1.0 sacks. He ranks seventh in C-USA with 8.3 tackles per game, is tied for seventh with 1.00 tackles for loss per contest and is tied for 10th with 0.88 passes defensed per outing. Scofield’s tackles-per-game average also ranks 71st among NCAA Division I-Football Bowl Subdivision players.

Scofield and the Green Wave return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2, when they travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to face C-USA newcomer Florida Atlantic at 4 p.m. (CDT) at FAU Stadium. The game against the Owls is the first of two road games as Tulane will play at Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 9 before returning to New Orleans to close out the home portion of the 2013 regular season against UTEP on Nov. 23.